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Topic: are these Seguso wing tips original? (Read 1263 times)

Both wing tips have been ground/polished, making them more or less equal in length (the tail remains as 'original'). Since I know nothing about these glass animals, it may well be that this is the norm - or is it more likely that they have been broken and someone has 'doctored' them. Oddly, I have a W/Fs. dilly duck that has a beak which is ground in a similar fashion, but always thought that it had been chipped and then ground down to make it look better (maybe not then). On this duck, incidentally, the gold is inside the piece. Would welcome any comments, and thanks for looking

my thanks to both of you for enlightenment - although disappointed that the Seguso may well have been 'further shaped'. I guess that a good test wud be if someone has a similar design that can be shown with unaltered wing tips.

Hi Paul :hi: , these have definately been ground down to hide some chipped damage. The Whitefriars ducks have a rough tip because that is where the pontil rod was detatched (some of my Murano ducks have this as well). But your poor little duck has had his wings clipped I'm afraid, so he won't be able to fly away!! The included gold is called Aventurine, but I thiink you knew that.

Logged

Rosie.

When all's said and done, there's nothing left to say or do. Roger McGough.

have to admit that I knew almost none of the info. that you knowledgable sorts have now made clear. In fact although I don't collect these things, I had convinced myself that this was the best buy of this morning's boot sale.......and now I know it's a reject :cry: - It only cost me Sterling £1.50, and I thought I'd really cracked it. But thanks for all the facts about manufacturing processes, and I certainly didn't know that the pontil rod was attached to the beak in the dilly ducks (I don't collect those either, but have come across three cheapies in the course of hunting in charity shops and boot sales, although not quite sure why I have hung on to them). What if I melt this duck down, can I re-claim the gold content :wsh:

Some of the pieces have been sold on eBay so often that they've probably spent a good bit of their lives in the mail. I've seen some things so many times. I often wonder how many times something can be shipped without having its luck run out.

It may be related -- about half the things I've bought off eBay lately have had damage or repairs.

I do want to say that some of the earlier animals do have abrupt endings to some of their appendages (though usually not wings). The shaping of tails, trunks, feet, etc., was not as careful in the early days. Often they were just snipped, sometimes along a long line that left a scar. I don't see this snip and leave technique much in post-1960 animals, except for the occasional tail. When something is snipped, people get uncomfortable that it is actually chipped.

In the case of Paul's duck, it would have taken extra work to do the polishing on the wings. I don't think a glassmaker would have done it because it detracts from the appearance of the bird. So, like Rosie said, I think our little duck has been grounded and will never again have sings to soar. You'll have to set it on a special shelf, Paul.